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Picked up a six pack at Capone's bottle shop. Pours a typical dark brown but with an impressive enormous billowing beige head. Aroma is chocolate with caramel notes. Taste is essentially a bitter dark chocolate bar but less sweet with subtle hint of caramel. Overall, this chocolate stout blows away the Sam Smith Organic Chocolate which I found cloyingly sweet and difficult to finish and has much more flavor than Young's Double Chocolate. While it is not nearly as rich or smooth as Voodoo Cowbell it's not really fair to compare to a draft only nitro-stout. It was a very enjoyable brew and I will have no problem finishing all six.

At the Sharp Edge Creekhouse awhile back from notes, dark black chocolate color with tawny brown highlights light mocha tan head, dwindles pretty quickly. Nose is full of syrupy sweet chocolate notes with a good amount of creamy lactose inspired fullness. Flavor wise it was straight up dusted chocolate (I guess Godiva) creamy milk chocolate/syrup notes rise and flow. The dark malts don't offer much balance just a wave of unrelenting sweet chocolate, with a mild herbal hops in the back end. Mouthfeel was medium bodied with a bit of cloying sweetness most of the time, I had a rough time getting through this one definitely glad I went for a half pour. Overall Penn shouldn't be straying from their German origins, until you nail Penn Dark back to the original formula I don't care if you can churn out Velentine's chocolate infused beer.

Update Bottled version on 3/5/14

Appears pitch black in the glass, forms fine speckled tan lacing after the head dwindles down. The nose is pleasant dark roasted malts, salted caramel, milk chocolate Hershey's kisses. The dark roasts and herbal hops just slip through to the senses in the background amongst all of the dessert qualities going on. Flavor dark chocolate roasts, more salted caramel, Hershey's chocolate syrup it's overtly sweet semi bitter finish from the darker roasts malts and chocolate additions. This years seems less harsh on the palate, and dare I say more balanced. I made the cry for them to get their base German beers back to top shape before experimenting with American style dessert chocolate beers I guess they don't want to listen. Mouthfeel is a bit cloying with sweetness, residual sugars and dark roasts collide, carbonation works no real complaints. Overall, back to the basics is much needed get me some original recipe Penn Dark and I forgive all other abominations.

A dry American chocolate is prominent. My Bottle from Capone’s. The aroma is terrific. Bittersweet chocolate taste. A little thin. Still a dessert beer and. Dark brown body with a little head and lace. Needs more caramel and also hops would not hurt.

Another chocolate beer, this time a stout from Penn Brewing. It's brewed with pale, caramel, chocolate and roasted malts; and artificially flavored.

Let's use a question and answer format to review this one: - So if it uses artificial flavoring, does it taste artificial? No, it actually tastes very much like bittersweet chocolate and dark fudge brownies. I find no defect in that area. - Is it sweet? Yes, but not overly so. I'd personally think of this as more of a dessert beer, but at the same time it does actually work as a chocolatey stout... it doesn't become cloying.- Is it roasty? It is, but that takes a back seat to the sweeter caramel and chocolate notes. However, that roastiness is part of what allows it to dry in the finish as it's not really that bitter. - Would you drink two (or more) in a row? I would probably not, but I probably could. Some of the chocolate beers I've tasted are great at the start but then become a bit much halfway through the glass, and I don't find that here. The more I taste it, the more of the stout side comes out (probably because the roastiness is building in my mouth). At the end of the glass I'm completely satisfied. It's satiating. - When would you drink it? I think it would make a great beer following a Thanksgiving or Xmas dinner, or almost anytime during winter as a slow, relaxing sipper. And, of course as a dessert beer. I really think that's where it would shine as it's really neither too sweet or too bitter. Plop a small scoop of soft vanilla ice cream into your glass and you've got an instant ice cream float!- Can you cook with it? I haven't tried it, but of all of the chocolate beers I've had I'd certainly imaging that it would work.- Overall? Unless you're against chocolate beers, or dark beers in general, I'd suggest you try it just to see. It's far from an everyday beer, but you might be surprised by it.

Poured from a brown 22 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of roasted malts, chocolate, a bit of smoke. Taste is chocolate, roasted malts, not to sweet, flavorful. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall I found this to be an enjoyable beer.